In January 2007, ICUT's website advertisements were curbed by Coventry
University - egged on by neighbouring universities - all of
whom resented ICUT's popularity among students and its growing profile. As a
result, ICUT served notice of intent to challenge the University's actions in
the High Court, and instructed legal counsel accordingly. At the last minute,
Coventry University backed off from a High Court battle; ICUT's website
advertisements have been restored and the Students Union (who never wanted the
dispute in the first place) have sought a restoration of normal working relations.
Conclusively, events show ICUT to have been totally vindicated. In the future, ICUT will
continue to champion the rights of the independent educational provider, and will not be deterred by threats, poisoned
whispers, negative innuendo or any other forms of bullying by
such institutions as Coventry University, University of Warwick, UCE and their like.
ICUT stands for good teaching standards, provided by competent tutors on ethical
terms at affordable rates.

We shall continue to promote our services, while also monitoring the
universities' performances in the near future. This coming Summer ICUT will be
publishing a report on the attainments of universities in the English Midlands.
Our report will comment on teaching provision, student access to resources and
the real levels of pastoral support
to students experiencing difficulties, most particularly overseas students.

Watch this space for more!

We invite you to note the articles which follow.

The Birmingham Post
Thursday April 12th 2007

University caves in over ad for tuition

By Shahid Naqvi

Education Correspondent

A private tutoring firm has forced a Midland university to
back down from a ban on asserting its "legitimate" right to offer extra paid-for
tuition to students.

Managers at Coventry University told their student union to
remove an advertisement by ICUT from its website and magazine at the beginning
of this year.

However, ICUT founder Dr Vincent McKee threatened to take
the university to court claiming it was illegally attempting to stifle private
sector competition.

Coventry University's student union has now reinstated the
firm's advertisement after finding no legitimate grounds for the ban. The
university's managers are also not opposing the move.

Dr McKee, who says his Coventry-based company is providing
a much-needed service to students in the face of poor teaching standards, hailed
the U-turn as a victory for private sector involvement in higher education. "The
private sector is here to stay. We are offering a service that is legitimate,
ethical and affordable," he said.

"I welcome the initiative by the student union president
Chris Smith to end this unnecessary and highly unpleasant rupture in relations.
I entirely accept the rupture was not the union's doing and appreciate the work
of Mr Smith and his colleagues in restoring the relationship."

ICUT was created two years ago and typically charges
students £35 for a two-hour session.

The company insists it does not do coursework for clients
but helps them get to grips with subjects they are falling behind on. Dr McKee
said the firm was inundated with requests for help and blamed sloppy teaching by
universities for the demand.

A banner advert and a directory listing for ICUT was
removed from Coventry University's student union website in January on
instruction from the institution's vice-chancellor, Professor Madeleine Atkins.

The university said it "does not support the advertising of
any external agency offering educational support of this kind or similar to its
students on campus".

Last month, Dr McKee gave the university 14 days to restore
the company's advertisement or face court proceedings on grounds of breaching
the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977.

The university capitulated in the face of the legal threat
and the union has agreed to carry the advert.

A spokesman for Coventry University said: "We understand
that Dr McKee has a contract with the students' union and they are prepared to
honour this."

The boss of a
private tutoring firm has won his battle to advertise his company on the
Coventry University Student Union website.

Dr Vincent
McKee, director of Independent College and University Tutors, has forced
Coventry University to back down and allow the advert on the student website.

The row broke
out in January when Coventry University bosses asked the student union not to
accept the ICUT advert. They said they didn’t support external companies
advertising academic help to students.

But Dr. McKee
threatened legal action and the university and student union have now decided to
let the adverts go ahead.

Dr McKee
said: “I respect Madeleine Atkins’ [the university vice chancellor’s] right to
run Coventry University in the public interest but, equally, she must respect
our right to offer our services to students who are struggling with courses.”

ICUT, based
in Tower Street, Coventry city centre, employs academics to offer extra help to
students worried they’re falling behind. A two-hour session usually costs £35.
The service is most popular with overseas students but British students are also
among the customers.

SEE BELOW for the history of this dispute.

In respect of Coventry University's latest battle
with ICUT over our right to advertise tutoring services to students, we can
confirm that between 25th September 2006 and 4th April 2007, a total of 621 students
contacted ICUT from Coventry seeking our help. A further 412 contacted ICUT from
UCE, 307 from the University of Warwick, 91 from Birmingham University and 68
from Aston University. Those figures speak for themselves!

The Birmingham
Post 26 February 2007

Tutoring row suggests more serious
problem

By Shahid Naqvi

Education Correspondent

A Coventry-based private tutoring firm
that targets struggling students claims a university could put it out of
business.

ICUT is pursuing legal action against
Coventry University, which ordered its student union body to remove a paid-for
advertisement by the company from its website.

The firm has already clashed with
Warwick University and Birmingham’s University of Central England, both of which
have banned its advertising leaflets on campus.

But ICUT founder Dr Vincent McKee claims
the business – which typically charges £35 for a two-hour session – is a
legitimate enterprise and a response to “widespread dissatisfaction with the
quality of teaching and academic supervision” at universities.

“We provide an ethical service of
retired academics or post-graduate students at affordable rates,” he said.

“We try and offer them a good service to
prevent them going to unscrupulous services on the internet. We have had 416
students from Coventry contact us between last September and the end of January
and 323 from UCE.

“The figures speak for themselves. This
is what the universities don’t like,” he said.

“This is the first year all the
universities charge £3,000 for tuition fees. Clearly they are not doing their
job.”

Dr McKee claimed the issue had become a
test case for the right of private business to provide an educational service to
students.

He said: “We believe the university is
trying to drive us out of business.”

And he claimed universities wanted to
maintain a “monopoly” on higher education, fuelled by an “innate prejudice
against the private sector” regardless of what was best for their students.

“The private sector is there to fulfil
needs for providing education and back-up support for students who clearly
universities are leaving behind,” he said.

“Many overseas students are not clear
about accessing research methods for British universities. These are the kind of
things universities claim to provide, but are not.

Dr McKee claimed 70 per cent of students
using ICUT were from overseas and were being let down by universities that
failed to live up to promises of support.

Solicitors acting on behalf of ICUT,
which stands for the Institute of Independent Colleges and University Teachers,
have issued a legal writ against Coventry University. They have given it 14 days
to restore the company’s advert on the student union website or face court
proceedings on grounds of breaching the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977.

Coventry University said in a statement:
“The University does not support the advertising of any external agency offering
educational support of this kind or similar to its students on campus.”

Chris Smith, president of Coventry
University Students’ Union, said: “We are working closely with the university
and ICUT UK to resolve this issue as quickly as possible.”

On its website ICUT offers help with
pre-exam revision, essay/assignment support and proofreading, graduate support,
as well as help for foundation degree and sixth-form students.

Created in 2005, the organisation also
sets out a mission to challenge the “increasingly dubious claims by British
universities to be providing ‘quality teaching’ to students” and confront a
culture of “arrogant elitism displayed by the state universities”.

A spokeman for Warwick University said
it judged posters advertising ICUT services were “inappropriate” and therefore
removed them from campus.

Professor Mary Caswekk, pro
vice-chancellor of UCE, said: “We are very aware of the availability of such
services but do not allow anyone to advertise or promote such services on
campus. We have also been working closely with our Students’ Union to warn
students of the consequences of being tempted by such services.”

The Coventry
Telegraph 26 February 2007

Private tutors furious over advert
ban

A row has broken out between a firm of
private tutors and Coventry University.

Bosses at Independent College and
University Tutors based in Tower Street, Coventry city centre are at loggerheads
with the university.

The firm’s director, Vincent McKee, is
angry that Coventry University Students’ Union will no longer take his adverts.

University bosses asked the union to
turn them down. University bosses have also asked ICUT staff not to hand out
leaflets on university premises.

The two sides are now exchanging
solicitors’ letters.

The issue at the hear of the row is
whether students need to pay private tutors as well as going to lectures,
seminars and tutorials run by their university.

ICUT employs academics who offer extra
tuition at £35 for two hours to university students worried they’re falling
behind.

The service is most popular with
overseas students although British students are also among the customers.

But university bosses don’t think it’s
right that private tutors should advertise on university premises to students.